An element of this as well is that when you have higher-paid government jobs, higher-paid mining jobs, and higher-paid transportation industry jobs, when those folks lose their employment, they often have the choice of going back home. Many of those folks are from eastern Canada, southern Canada, or western Canada. Those people have options available to them that cause them to leave the community. The working poor and the aboriginal folks don't have that choice. That is not available to them. When they are in that situation, they have to make do in the sorts of situations Kate and Gord have been talking about. That's why there is a race face to the nature of poverty in the Northwest Territories.
On December 2nd, 2009. See this statement in context.